Parents Association: Union and Government to explain why every problem has to be solved on the backs of our children

Parents throughout Montenegro are calling on the Union of Education and the Government of Montenegro, regarding the decision to strike in educational institutions from Monday, to explain to us why every problem in education must be solved behind the backs of our children, the Parents' Association announced today.

"The Parents' Association wants to convey the message and reactions of the parents who contacted us and which are exclusively negative because they believe that this is a drastic measure that will only and only affect our children, and not the Government, ministries and the Trade Union", it is emphasized in the announcement of the Association of Parents.

They added that parents are outraged because, who knows how many times, they feel betrayed, i.e. they interpret this move as a fight between the Trade Union and the Government, in the course of which they do not think about the students who have lost a worrying amount in the educational process in recent years.

"They are calling us to organize protests and to make it clear to both the Trade Union and the Government that the strike is unacceptable, but also to convey their message that they will not send children to school on Saturdays. They ask who decided that the material lost due to the strike should be compensated on Saturdays? was irritated by the statement that it's not the end of the world to go to school on Saturdays, and they ask us to publicly call on parents to ignore it. They don't even understand what to expect from Monday - who has and who doesn't have classes, whether the children will go to the first and then the fifth hour. How are they going to leave work at 13:30 p.m. to pick up a child who is in kindergarten, and will their employers allow them to do so," said the Parents Association.

From that association, they are wondering where the Government is.

"Why aren't any of them advertising? These are important and most important topics to which they had to devote themselves as much as possible. There is no doubt whether the salaries of educators should be increased and their status in society should be improved together with them. There is also no doubt that refusing to work with children should not be the only way to advocate for better working conditions. There is no doubt that the Government must not ignore the demands of educators and devote itself to negotiating with them until a solution is found. That's why we invite them, both, to stop doing that and find a way to come to an agreement," said the Parents Association.

The education union decided to start a strike on Monday, February 19.

This was said by the president of the Education Union, Radomir Božović, during a press conference on the occasion of the announced strike in education.

He said that 144 schools declared for the strike with over 50 percent of employees' signatures.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MPNI) announced today that it is calling on the Education Union of Montenegro to continue the dialogue on increasing the salary of educators in the net amount of at least 15%, which would start to be applied no later than the end of the third quarter of this year.

They said that the next meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 18